Lightning Racer

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Lightning Racer
Image-Lightning Racer at Hersheypark station.jpg
Hersheypark
Coordinates 40°17′34″N 76°39′11″W / 40.292884°N 76.653171°W / 40.292884; -76.653171Coordinates: 40°17′34″N 76°39′11″W / 40.292884°N 76.653171°W / 40.292884; -76.653171
Status Operating
Opening date May 13, 2000 (2000-05-13)
Cost $12,500,000[1]
General Statistics
Type Wood – Racing – Dueling
Manufacturer Great Coasters International
Model Racing roller coaster
Lift/launch system Chain
  Lightning (Red) Thunder (Green)
Height 92 ft (28.0 m) 92 ft (28.0 m)
Drop 90 ft (27.4 m) 90 ft (27.4 m)
Length 3,393 ft (1,034.2 m) 3,393 ft (1,034.2 m)
Speed 51 mph (82.1 km/h) 51 mph (82.1 km/h)
Inversions 0 0
Duration 2:20 2:20
Max vertical angle 45° 45°
G-force 3.6 3.6
Height restriction 48 in (122 cm)
Lightning Racer at RCDB
Pictures of Lightning Racer at RCDB

Lighting Racer is a wooden dueling roller coaster located at Hersheypark. It is located in the Midway America section of the park. Built by Great Coasters International in 2000, it was their first wooden racing and dueling roller coaster, and their second roller coaster at Hersheypark after Wildcat.

History[]

On August 17, 1999, Hersheypark announced that they would be adding Lightning Racer. The park hired Great Coasters International to build a racing wooden roller coaster. It would be the second roller coaster built by the company, with the other being Wildcat.[2]

Lightning Racer opened to the general public on May 13, 2000.[3]

The ride[]

The ride makes use of GCI's Millennium Flyer articulated trains for a smooth and comfortable ride. During the ride's first two years in operation, the park played recordings for the winning train, which sometimes included local celebrity voices. While fans of the ride may have a particular side (Thunder/Green, or Lightning/Red) they enjoy more, both sides travel through the same elements, although at different times. Speed is affected not only by weight on the train, but also by weather conditions (rain, temperature, etc.), maintenance, the lifts' speeds, and placement of riders on train. Both sides contain an on-ride camera, located in the tunnel midway through the ride.

A view of the Thunder train from the Lightning train during a pass.

Additional information[]

Lightning Racer is in the Midway America section of the park. It is the most popular attraction in that section, often dispatching full trains on the average day. Despite this, wait times for the ride often do not exceed fifteen to twenty minutes when both trains are running on each track due to high capacity and ease of dispatch. If only one train is operating on each track wait times can reach up to one hour.

When Lightning Racer opened, it was the second GCI coaster to open at Hersheypark after Wildcat, making it the only park in the world to have two GCI coasters.

During its initial season and several seasons thereafter, the ride featured Creed's hit "Higher" as its theme song.

Awards[]

Lightning Racer is consistently voted a top 25 wooden roller coaster by Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards.

Golden Ticket Awards: Top wood Roller Coasters
Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Ranking 13[4] 11[5] 7[6] 10[7] 9[8] 10[9] 10[10] 9[11] 12[12] 10[13] 11[14] 11[15] 9[16] 11[17] 10[18] 10[19] 12[20] 12[21] 14[22]

References[]

  1. ^ Cronin, Jeff (May 11, 2000). "Hang on to your hats and may the best train win!". The Sentinel. Sentinel Reporter. Retrieved July 14, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "'Lightning Racer' will become Hersheypark's newest coaster in May". Lancaster New Era. August 18, 1999. Retrieved November 16, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Marden, Duane. "Lightning Racer  (Hersheypark)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  4. ^ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  5. ^ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  6. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 10–11B. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  7. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  8. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 22–23B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  9. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 30–31B. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  10. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 11 (6.2): 42–43. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  11. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 12 (6.2): 42–43. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  12. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 13 (6.2): 38–39. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  13. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 14 (6.2): 38–39. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  14. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 46–47. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  15. ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 46–47. September 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  16. ^ "2013 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 17 (6.2): 40–41. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  17. ^ "2014 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 38–39. September 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  18. ^ "2015 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 45–46. September 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  19. ^ "2016 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  20. ^ "2017 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  21. ^ "2018 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
  22. ^ "2019 Top 50 Wood Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
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